Massive CME explodes
http://www.space.com/11893-huge-sun-eruption-spectacular-solar-flare.htmlhttp://www.nasa.gov/images/content/557156main_M2_CME_946-710.jpg
"The sun unleashed a massive solar storm today (June 7) in a dazzling eruption that kicked up a vast cloud of magnetic plasma that appeared to rain back down over half of the sun's entire surface, NASA scientists say.
The solar storm hit its peak at about 2:41 a.m. EDT (0641 GMT), but the actual flare extended over a three-hour period, said C. Alex Young, a solar astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center who runs a website called The Sun Today, in a video describing the event.
"The sun produced a quite spectacular prominence eruption that had a solar flare and high-energy particles associated with it,
but I've just never seen material released like this before," Young said. "It looks like somebody just kicked a giant clod of dirt into the air and then it fell back down."
I work in the Electric Generation Industry, and in 1986 a Large Solar Flare actually during that Solar Max overloaded Quebec's Power Grid and Caused a Blackout. This was due to a large voltage spike triggering Relay protection, and did not do any significant Damage. But it shows how technology is vulnerable to disturbances from these types of events.